What's in a name?
by Ravain.Angelz
Summary: Julie is a normal girl until a deamon walks into her life and spirits her away. But who is he? And who is the person anfter them?


I do not own YYH. Please support the official release.

Chapter 1:

Julie's boots echoed across the empty floor of Uncle Mike's One Stop Pet Shope. She walked quickly past the dog center towards the bathrooms and employee break room. She unzipped her smock as she walked, enjoying the feeling of freedom. After nine and a half grueling hours of dog washing, she was ready to go home. She sagged slightly against the door of the break room as it swung open.

"Oh my gosh, today was awful." A fellow groomer, Mandy, laughed as she stripped off her water-proof pants.

Mandy was a 5'6", green eyed, hair dyed from blond-to-auburn ball of energy with an interesting fashion pallet. Her tastes ran to bright double layer tank tops, cloth jogging shorts, and slippers.

"I thought I'd never get that Malamute done." Julie sighed as she opened her locker and took out her lunch stuff, purse, and coat. "Thank god my other dog canceled."

Julie pushed her glasses a little farther up her nose and checked herself out in the little mirror that was glued to the inside of her locker door. The goop that held her pixy-cut strawberry-blond hair spiked was still doing its job despite the long hours spent in the steamy bathing bunker. The super short cut gave the illusion of jaw length, making her face seem less round. A dusting of freckles graced her cheeks and nose. Ice-blue eyes fringed by dark brown lashes peaked out from behind rose colored glasses.

"I know, that dog was awful." Mandy said and threw on her coat and headed for the door. "Lets go."

Julie threw her smock into her locker, followed by her knee pads. Too warm for a coat she tucked it under her arm, grabbed her things, and followed Mandy out the door.

"Ted and I are going to see Henry Porter tomorrow after work! I'm so excited, this is the last one!" Mandy gushed.

Julie laughed as they rounded the dog center, passed the grooming salon, and out towards the doors.

"Thank Goodness! I am so tired of that series." She said.

"Aw, you're just jealous that you don't have anyone to take you to it." Mandy teased.

"Too true." Julie sighed.

They laughed as the store manager, Nellie, waved at them to hurry up so she could lock them out.

"Good-bye ladies." Nellie said and locked the door behind them with a firm click. She disappeared deeper into the store to finish up whatever managerial duties she had left to do.

"FREE AT LAST!" Mandy shouted, breath fogging from her mouth and started off to her car. "BYE!"

"Bye!" Julie shouted back. She was starting to regret not putting on her Jacket.

The January night promised to be cold. She could smell snow on the wind, and it was for casted that by tomorrow or the next night the promise would be a reality. But tonight it was just a little cold. Julie reached back into her purse and unclasped her keys. She sorted through them until she found the one for her car. A scream echoed out over the parking lot. Julie jumped and looked up in time to see a car flip onto its side barely missing Mandy. Julie stood frozen for a second, then started to run towards her friend.

She made it two steps before something smashed into her side. Her breath went out in a whoosh and she was flat on her back in the parking lot. It took her a moment to realize a face was above her. It was a man with violet eyes and long black hair. He glanced over his shoulder, then smiled.

Julie gained her breath back and was about to scream when he picked her up and began to run.

"STOP!" Someone shouted.

The man holding Julie laughed and took to the sky on large, leathery black wings. Julie did scream, only to have it stopped with a blow to the back of her neck. Pain erupted behind her eyes like multi-colored fireworks before it stole her thoughts and fear away into blackness.

The first thing that let Julie know she wasn't dead was the feeling of concrete beneath her hands. Her fingers twitched slightly exploring the rough surface. Her eyes snapped open and she woke with a gasp. She sat up, a little too quickly, and collapsed back down onto her side as the world turned gray and swam.

Laughter echoed like something dark and sweet a few feet away. Julie's head snapped in that direction. Her vision only swam a little this time, once adjusted, her eyes narrowed as they caught the slightest glint of silver. As if on cue a light burst to life, flooding the area in a harsh white light. Julie threw her hands up over her eyes, almost dislodging her glasses in the process.

"Poor mortal. So delicate, so weak." The voice laughed.

Julie slowly lowered her hands as her eyes adjusted to the light. The owner of the voice was reclining against a large orange garage type door. It was then she realized they were in what must have been a storage unit. A larger one as far as units went.

The figure cocked his head to the side in an almost bird like motion. Violet eyes glinted like silver. His hair was black as night and pulled into a loose pony-tail that swam like ink over a shoulder and down into his lap. His most interesting feature, aside from the violet eyes, seemed to be a trench coat covered in so many silver buckles and straps it would have made any goth proud.

Julie licked her lips and studied the man. He seemed at ease and a small smile played at the corners of his mouth, as if he found something funny. His hands kept playing and caressing a long silver chain which, in the empty space around them, made a small whistling sound as it moved.

"Who are you?" Julie asked. Her voice was small but strong.

The man closed his eyes and laughed quietly while the chain whizzed through the air.

Julie cocked her head to the side and narrowed her eyes again. To say she was freaked was an understatement. She had seen too many police shows to underestimate the meaning of a man taking a woman to a dark secluded spot. He was going to do something to her. The only question was how badly was it going to hurt and what was she going to do about it.

"What do you want?" She asked.

The chain flicked in a fancy arch that landed it into the violet-eyed man's pocket. He leaned his head back and studied her with cold, but interested eyes.

"Nothing you need to worry about." He said.

Julie arched her eyebrow, sat back on her heels and thought _LIAR. _Fear curled in her belly, but she did the best she could to squash it. Rule one of survival: Do not panic. Her mind seemed to be working overtime, studying the large empty unit they were in. It didn't leave her any tools to hurt him with. The way he handled that chain made her wary of attacking him bare handed. If he was that good with a chain, how good would he be with a knife-assuming he had one? Mr. Violet-eyes didn't want to answer questions, that was fine. Perhaps non-chlant would work better.

"Look, if you are gonna rape me, get it over with." She glanced at her watch. The gold band read 3:45. It must have been in the am as her shift last night ended at 9 pm. "I have to be to work in 4 hours."

It was the man's turn to cock an eyebrow.

"Have no fear, fair maiden, your virtue is safe with me." He said.

Julie didn't know weather to be more relieved or offended by that comment. She put the matter to the side. If he didn't want sex, what did he want. You don't take people to secluded places without having a use for them.

"At least tell me your name." Julie said.

"My name?" He made it a question.

"Unless you want me calling you..." Her eyes flicked him over. "...Herbie...for the rest of your life." She had purposely picked out the worst name she could think of.

The man scowled at the sound of the name, but shrugged. "Herbie will suffice."

Julie sat back eyes roaming the floor. Herbie suddenly jumped to his feet, body as taught as a bowstring.

"Wh-"

Herbie waved her to silence with a glare and sharp gesture. Suddenly she could hear it. There were footsteps on the other side of the door.

"I'M HERE!"

Julie screamed.

Suddenly there was banging on the other side of the garage-like door. "OPEN THIS DOOR!"

If looks could kill the one Herbie gave Julie would have left her a molten pile of goo on the floor. Suddenly he was beside her. Julie started to flinch but never had a chance to finish the movement. One strong arm slid around her waist and he was kneeling down. Julie had a moment to think he was crouching behind her to use her for a bullet shield before he was launching himself upwards. One moment they were in the building, the next they were in the rain. Herbie had his free arm in a forearm block above his head. He had simply punched his way through the ceiling. Bits and pieces of the roof fell away from them as they gained altitude. Julie glanced over her shoulder in time to see a person run into the room they had just left. All she saw was a yellow rain-coat before two great leathery wings burst out from under Herbie's trench coat and blocked her vision.

"No!" The voice from the person below could barely be heard over the roaring wind.

Too frightened to scream, Julie threw her arms around Herbie's neck and buried her face in his collar. This wasn't possible! He had just punched his way out of a storage unit, using nothing but his fist! How in-the-name-of-Peat could he have wings? Bat wings no less! She could feel the tug and pull of his pectoral muscles straining with each beat. There was a reason birds didn't have arms. They needed all the muscle they could get to stay air born. How Herbie did it was any one's guess.

Julie's stomach went into her throat as they made their decent.

"Don't lock your knees, human." Was all the advice Herbie gave.

They spilled to the ground with as much grace as a bull in a china shop; or at least Julie did. Herbie managed to stay standing, but he let Julie spill to the ground following the momentum he had build during the landing. She didn't stay there long though, he was hauling her up by her throat and bringing her in close.

"If you EVER scream like that again." Herbie tightened his fist a fraction, cutting off her air supply. He hoped she got the message.

Weather it was tears or rain that was running down her cheeks, he didn't care. He released her as suddenly as he had grabbed her. She fell from his grasp with a gasping cough, hands flying to her slightly bruised throat. He waited for her to relearn how to breath before grabbing her wrist.

"Leg go of me!" Julie's voice was hoarse from almost being strangled and fear. When he didn't let go she struggled.

He turned to her then, violet eyes cold. "If you continue to struggle, I'll crush your wrist." To show he wasn't joking he applied as much pressure as he dared. His threat was not idle. He could crush her hand simply by holding it. It disgusted him how weak humans were.

Julie gasped and fell to her knees as the joints in her wrist popped. The pressure was gone as quickly as it was applied and the bones struggled back into their original position.

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" A man in sweats and rain gear came running up.

Herbie narrowed his eyes, he had been careless. More careless then he would ever like to admit. He got rid of the meddling human in sweats with a quick open handed slap. Blood blossomed at humans mouth and he fell unconscious to the ground. A woman screamed, apparently she had been with the man. Herbie grabbed his charge and ran.

"RODGER!" the Jogger's woman screamed. She stayed by his side and kept trying to rouse him. She started digging in her pocket and pulled out a little phone. She pressed numbers like wild.

Herbie took off down a paved pathway melting into the predawn darkness. Another thing he hated about humans was their ability to band together. Harm one and soon a whole pack of them would hunt you down. Not that it would do anything. They were so easy to kill, but they did happen to be a nuance. Herbie smiled, they weren't very bright either. Humans never seemed to look up. But Herbie did. He smirked as a large concrete structure rose into view. A large overpass loomed ahead that supported a seemingly endless river of cars. The concrete pillars rose almost two stories over the small paved path. Making sure no one was watching, he gathered his charge in his arms and jumped.

There was a large space between a supporting slab and the road above that was populated by about fifty pidgins. They took flight as he landed. He didn't have enough room to stand comfortably but he could sit, which he did. The girl pressed her back firmly against a concrete support and held very still. Fear radiated off of her in waves.

"Aww, afraid of heights?" Herbie asked.

Julie shot him a glare that slowly wilted around the edges as a breeze blew through their space. Herbie smirked and placed his hands behind his head. He stretched out one leg and bent the other at the knee so that he could relax in relative safety.

A sound brought his attention back to the girl. She curled in on herself slightly and her lips were turning a light shade of purple. She refused to look at him, even though her shoulders were shaking slightly. Herbie cocked his head to the side and watched her. She was small, for a human, and stood only about five feet tall and most of that height came from her legs. Short blond hair that had been spiked was now wilted and soaked flat from the rain. She wore a baby blue t-shirt that advertised some type of cat food, black skin tight cotton pants, and form-fitting water-proof boots that hugged her legs to mid calf. She cupped her hands to her mouth and her breath fogged as she breathed into them. The motion struck Herbie as odd. What could she be doing, smelling her breath? It took him a moment to realize she was suffering from the cold.

Unlike humans, Herbie did not get cold. The inferno inside his demon core kept him safe from such worries. It was possible for him suffer from the cold, but it took a trip all the way north to the ice kingdoms. Needless to say, he didn't travel there much.

"Come." Herbie said.

Julie glanced up. Herbie held out an arm towards her.

"Unless you care to freeze to death."

Julie slowly reached out and took his hand. He gently pulled her into the core of his body and lifted the side of his coat. She hesitated for a moment when she noticed he wore no shirt, but the heat radiating from his body quickly ended her resolve. Herbie guided her to sit on his thigh and pressed her head to his shoulder. Her hands fluttered between their bodies like nervous butterflies, unsure of where to place them.

"Around my waist." He instructed.

Herbie smirked as he watched the blood rise to her face. She blushed almost to the roots of her hair as she laid her arms around his waist. Herbie lowered an arm and wrapped it behind her, it would be a shame if she fell. He had plans for this woman. Plans that required her alive Rather than dead.

Julie was stiff as a board. She hated the fact that she was blushing. It didn't help that Herbie was as warm as a furnace, she bit her lip as her glasses started to fog. Should she move to take them off?

"Sleep human, we will be moving by nightfall." Herbie said.

Julie swallowed hard. She could feel his voice vibrating against her cheek.

"Julie." She said quietly.

"What?" Herbie asked, turning his attention to her face.

"My name is Julie." Julie said while she reached up and took off her glasses. Maybe if she spoke bravely he wouldn't notice she was uncomfortable.

"Very well. Julie." Herbie said. She didn't look at him as she quickly tucked her glasses into her shirt.

Herbie closed his eyes and took a deep breath in through his nose. The air smelled fresh and clean. Snow was on the wind. This rain would turn very quickly. It might be an advantage. The creature that hunted him was human and the snow would slow him down. Herbie glanced out of the corner of his eye. Julie was looking off into space, though still as stiff as when he first wrapped her up in his coat. How much of a hindrance would the snow be to her? It hadn't even started yet and already she was freezing.

"Why didn't you leave me behind?" Julie asked.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"Why didn't you just let me go?" she said.

"I am being pursued. Should the human trying to catch me succeed, you will be my bargaining chip. He will want you alive." Herbie said.

Julie nodded. That made since to her. She only hoped that the guy trying to catch Herbie really did want her alive, it would be really bad if he was willing to kill her to catch him. She shuttered involuntary at the thought.

"Are you still cold?" Herbie asked.

"No, just a bad thought." Julie answered.

"About what?" He said.

"I really hope what you said about that guy was true. It would really suck for me if he didn't give a darn about my safety." Julie said.

Herbie laughed and Julie jumped. Herbie placed a finger under her chin and forced her to look up at him. He watched as she squinted her eyes slightly, bringing him into focus.

"Trust me, Julie. He will want you alive." Herbie said.

Julie lifted her chin off of his hand and he let her go.

"What makes you so sure?" She asked.

"He is human." Herbie said.

"That's it? He's human?" Julie scoffed. "You don't know much about my kind, do you?"

"No, I do not. Nor do I care to." Herbie said.

Julie was quiet for a moment, but she had more questions she wanted answered. Herbie seemed to be an a sharing mood.

"So, uh..." Julie lifted her shoulders in a shrug. "Your wings...they're real?"

"Of course they are real! How else did we get up here?" Herbie shot her a look he thought she deserved.

"What in the world are you? A...Demon, or something?" She asked.

"Of a sort." Herbie said.

Julie licked her lips and thought of his answer. Of a sort? what the heck did that mean? Those wings, what were they?

"Can I ask you a personal question?" She asked.

Herbie grunted in response.

"May I touch them?"

"What?" He asked.

"Your wings. May I touch them?" She asked.

Herbie looked down into her expecting face. He searched it for a moment, but found nothing but curiosity in her features. Of all his body parts, his wings were the weakest. A train could run over his arm and it wouldn't break. But his wings could be broken by something as simple as a club wielded by a human.

"Yes." Even Herbie was shocked at the answer. But his face didn't betray that shock.

Julie's hands slowly slid up his sides and worked themselves to his back. Herbie helped her by leaning forward and lifting his wings slightly away from the skin of his back. Very gently she traced the muscles to where human shoulder blades should have been. Instead her fingers gently brushed against something like velvet. She could feel where the bones of the clavicle had been deformed into something that would support the more delicate "Shoulder" of a bat's wing. Good god, it was as if something had literally taken the wings of a bat and molded them onto a human skeleton.

Herbie watched her expression as she explored the muscles of his back. Her face went from one of fear to something that held knowledge. By the way she moved her hands he knew that she had some knowledge of anatomy. She shifted her weight so that she now sat with her legs straddling his lap. Herbie brought his hands down to gently hold her waist. She didn't even notice that he had moved. She was too busy studying the major bones of the wing.

"Here's the humerus." She mumbled.

Her fingers traced the bone to where it bent at the "elbow". His wings were tucked up against his back the way a human would tuck their arms up against their chest. Elbows tucked in at his sides, thumbs resting on the shoulders, and long bat "fingers" resting down his back.

"Ulna, radius. Thumb." Julie whispered to herself.

Julie gently touched what would have been the equivalent of an index finger. The digit was covered in velvet-like fur as black as his hair. She gently moved her fingers from the bone to the webbing. The webbing was as warm as the rest of his body. She gently stroked the skin, trying to feel its texture. It was like feeling the skin between your thumb and index finger, only softer. His wing twitched and he grabbed her wrist gently.

"That's enough." Herbie said.

Julie placed her hands back around his waist. The strength of those back muscles. They were almost like chest muscles. Though, they would have to be to help keep the wing beat.

"What keeps your muscles from ripping your chest open?" Julie asked more to herself than to him.

"What?" Herbie asked.

Julie looked up at him and leaned back slightly so she could see his face easier. She held her hands up in front of her, fingers fanned out to the sides, thumbs locked in the center.

"Birds have a wish bone, its an extra anchor for the chest and wing muscles to hook on to." She flapped her hands, pivoting on the thumbs. "If your chest is anything like a humans," she patted him firmly on the chest to emphasise the human shape of his body. "You don't have one. The very strength of these muscles here and here" She traced her fingers along his pectoral muscles. "On the down-beat of your wing stroke the muscles would contract with enough force that it would rip your chest cavity open like an over-ripe peach."

Herbie blinked. He had never thought of that. Then again he had never had to. He shrugged and let the thought go. What did he care? His body worked and his chest had never split open.

"I do not know." He said.

Herbie watched as she leaned into his chest and gently ran her fingers down the center of it. She pushed at the bone, testing its strength. She even turned her head to the side and gently tapped a knuckle against his sternum as if listening to the sound.

"Leave it alone Julie." He said.

"I have one last question." She asked.

Herbie narrowed his eyes. His patience was not endless and she was getting on his last nerve.

"What?" He asked.

"Why do you let me call you Herbie?" Julie asked.

The question caught him off guard.

"You must have a name, something better than Herbie." She continued.

Herbie looked into her face. She watched him with large blue eyes. Humans were so curious. It got them into trouble most of the time. She held his gaze as if she could have looked at him that way forever. He didn't know why he was going to answer her question, but he was.

"I took it because I didn't have a name." He answered.

"What?" She asked.

"My master snatched my spirit from the underworld and resurrected my body. I obey him because he knows my TRUE name. Herbie is as good as anything until I get it back." he said.

"Woah. So, where are you from?" Julie asked.

Herbie heaved a sigh and firmly pressed her back into his chest. She went stiff against him again and the stink of fear was back, though not as strong as before. He ignored it and positioned her more comfortably against his chest.

"No more. We will sleep now, there is much to be done once night is here." Herbie said.

"Okay." Julie said quietly.

Herbie tilted his head back and watched as the first flakes of snow started to fall from the sky. Julie slowly relaxed against him as he paid no more attention to her. She snuggled down against the heat of his body and he felt her get a little heavier as the muscles that had kept her weight off his body relaxed. Her eye lashes flicked against his chest as she fought to keep her eyes open, but it was a loosing battle. Only after he felt her entire body go limp against his did he allow himself to follow her into sleep.

End chapter 1


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